Join us for a Global Health Exchange lecture, co-sponsored by Duke Pratt School of Engineering and DGHI. This event is free and open to the public so please spread the word to your colleagues and students. Light lunch will be served.

About the speaker:

Marc Deshusses, PhD
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Deshusses' broad research interests are related to the design, analysis and application of processes for the bioremediation of contaminated air, water and soils. One area of on-going research is bioreactors for air pollution control. Results from this work have resulted among others in a better fundamental understanding of how volatile organics and odors are biodegraded in waste air biofilters and biotrickling filters. It has also been used recently to convert odor control chemical scrubbers to high efficiency biotrickling filters at wastewater treatment plants.

Another area of ongoing research is the development of biotreatment processes to treat groundwater contaminated with gasoline additives MTBE and TBA and rocket propellant perchlorate. Results from this work are being applied in the field. Other ongoing research include the development of gas-phase sensors based on functionalized nanomaterials, the use of biomolecular techniques for monitoring microorganisms in complex mixed cultures, fundamental study of biofouling mechanisms, biofilms, combined chemical and biological treatment of wastes, indoor air quality, and mathematical modeling of environmental bioprocesses.